Marooned
by SPHD
Summary: A freak accident above Chi Ceti IV leaves John-117 and Kelly-087 stranded in the Mass Effect universe, where they team up with Commander Shepard in hopes of finding a way home. Will the Spartans be able to return? Or could they find something worth fighting for alongside the crew of the Normandy? Will contain some John/Kelly and MShep/Tali in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Orbit of Chi Ceti IV, Chi Ceti System, 2525

* * *

A three minute timer appeared on the heads-up display of John and Kelly's MJOLNIR armor.

"There. It's decided." said Sam, grimacing in pain. "Now—get going, you two."

John clasped Sam's hand and squeezed it. Kelly hesitated, then saluted. Then, John turned and grabbed her arm. "Come on, Spartan. Don't look back."

The two made their way through the ruined Covenant ship as the time slowly ticked away. With about a minute left, they came to a large crater that burrowed into the superstructure of the vessel and left a ragged maze of twisted metal in its wake. It had been left by a lucky MAC shot, and it was the Spartans' ticket out of the doomed ship. Their comms no longer blocked by hundreds of meters of metal, John sent a quick coded chirp to the Commonwealth, alerting the Pelican pilots that they were ready for extraction. The two scrambled up the side of the impact crater and, with only a few seconds left, slipped through a hole in the shields left by a firing point defense laser and began floating through space. John made a mental note of the Pelican drifting towards them before twisting with Kelly to watch the Covenant ship explode.

A blazing orange fireball lit up near the midsection of the ship, popping the weakened shields almost immediately. The once proud vessel shattered across its spine, both halves brightly flashing with secondary explosions. John sadly smiled behind his faceplate as he thought of Sam. At least it was one hell of a way to go. He began to twist back towards the Pelican when he felt Kelly tense up. He turned to follow her eyes, gasping in fear when he saw it.

Something was happening to the rear section of the broken ship. An unearthly light hung like a halo around the engines, and space itself seemed to be twisting around the ruined superstructure. Too late, John realized he was watching an uncontrolled slipspace rupture. He frantically activated the tightbeam comm channel to the incoming Pelican.

"Incoming pilot, break, break! This is Sierra 117 and 087, declaring emergency! The ship's not safe! Repeat, it's not-"

The expanding rupture washed over the two Spartans, and John clung to Kelly as tight as he could. He felt the peculiar sensation of falling through another dimension before he stopped feeling anything altogether.

* * *

Citadel Space, Widow Nebula, 2183

* * *

"Commander, I'm glad to see you're getting settled in."

"Yes sir. Flight Lieutenant Moreau has us in the pattern for the Widow Relay, we should be transiting in about an hour. I have to say though, sir, she's not the same ship without Captain Anderson."

"No, I'd imagine not. Listen, Commander, you earned that ship, like it or not. Being the first human Spectre is a great accomplishment, and right now you're humanity's best chance at showing our worth to the galaxy at large. The Systems Alliance naturally wants to give you the highest possible chance of success. Don't worry about your Captain, we're not done with Anderson yet."

"Of course, sir. I'll do my best to make you all proud. Was there anything else you needed?"

"Yes, actually. I'm sure you're aware of our somewhat strained relationship with the Turian Hierarchy. They see us as overeager upstarts, trying to carve out a bigger place in galactic society than we necessarily deserve. Well, now they've offered us an olive branch. Their Blackwatch special operations team has requested the Normandy's help in tracking down an anomaly on their homeworld's moon. She has a top of the line sensor suite, and the stealth tech doesn't hurt either. The whole moon is off limits to civilians and classified at the highest level, but as a Council Spectre, Alliance High Command has successfully argued that you and a small ground team should be allowed to accompany the Turians as they neutralize the anomaly. This is not a good sign, Commander. Something has them spooked, and badly. I want you to get to Palaven as soon as possible and figure out just what the hell is going on. Understood?"

"Yes sir. You can count on us."

"I knew I could, Commander. Hackett out."

Shepard scanned the horizon, following the Blackwatch troops with Garrus and Tali by his side. He had figured that Garrus might help him make a good impression with the Turians, and he still wasn't quite sure about Tali's combat ability. Anomaly or no anomaly, a Turian-controlled moon full of allied spec-ops soldiers was probably the safest environment he'd get to put her to the test. They came to a small bunker dug into the planet's surface, and the Turian leading the group held up his hand to stop them.

"This is the place. Your Normandy picked up two thermal signatures here, and it fits the pattern we've been seeing. Small, isolated structures with few guards. You and your team stay here, we'll scout it out."

"If you insist Sergeant. Give us a call if you run into trouble, though"

The Turian didn't answer, busy coordinating a breach of the bunker's door. The Turians disappeared inside, and Shepard let out a frustrated sigh. He would much rather take point in finding the anomalies, but this was the Turians' moon, and so they made the rules. He turned to his ground team. He might as well try to be useful.

"Tali, go check the door. See if you can figure out how these things got inside. Garrus, you stay with her and watch the entrance. I'm going to check the perimeter and see if I can find any signs of where they came from."

"Will do, Shepard." "You got it, boss."

His crewmates set to their work, and Shepard began a careful walk around the structure. He had excelled in the tracking courses back at N-school, and his training as a sniper had given him a keen eye for detail. Sure enough, at the rear of the bunker, he spotted a set of slight indentations in the thin layer of sand leading into the wilderness. He followed the trail for a couple hundred meters, hand on his pistol, past the jagged boulders and cracked rock that made up the terrain on Menae. He stopped when he came to a ravine. Climbing down wouldn't be smart to do alone, he should go find-

His thoughts were interrupted by a human voice behind him and the unmistakable click of a weapon's safety being disengaged.

"Stop. Take your hand off the pistol and slowly turn towards me."

* * *

"Stop. Take your hand off the pistol and slowly turn towards me."

The words sounded more confident than John felt. The man looked dangerous, more so than the hand-picked trainers John had frequently clashed with on Reach. And John and Kelley were weak from hunger. They'd finished their survival rations two weeks ago, and all the food they had found here had made them violently sick. The MJOLNIR armor definitely gave them a sizable edge in combat, but even it couldn't help if they passed out from exertion. Kelly had him covered from a nearby boulder though. If the man tried anything, she'd take him out.

The man slowly turned, with his hands away from his sides. His armor was strange, not anything John had ever seen before. Was it a new Insurrectionist model? John's grip tightened on his rifle.

"Who are you?" John doubted the man would admit to being an Innie, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

"I'm Commander John Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy, Council Spectre. Who are you?"

John frowned behind his helmet. None of those words had made any sense besides Commander and Navy.

"That's classified. Where are we right now?"

The man's eyebrows raised in surprise behind his transparent visor. "Menae, a moon of Palaven. The whole thing is one big Turian outpost. How did you get here?"

More nonsensical words. Were Turians those aliens he'd seen walking around? They had to be Covenant, right? John had never heard of a _friendly_ alien. "I crash-landed. The Turians, are they Covenant?"

Now the man frowned in confusion. "I'm not sure what that means."

John wondered how he could be on a moon with aliens and not know what the Covenant was. "Are they hostile to humans?"

"Oh. No, they're friendly. What species are you? You're clearly not from Council Space."

John tensed. That felt like a dangerous questions to answer. But the man looked human and sounded human. And he and Kelly needed help, especially, if they had somehow travelled outside of UNSC space. Maybe this man and these aliens were part of some long-lost colony.

"I'm... Human. What about you?"

The man looked confused again. "I'm human as well. Listen, you might not know it, but you're in trouble. The Turians are looking for something, and I think that something is you. I have a ship that can get you out of here. If you take me to your crash site, I'll tell the Turians where it is and smuggle you offworld while they search it. Then we leave the system and try to figure out how to get you home. What do you think?"

John considered the offer. He closed off his external speakers and whispered to Kelly. She had, of course, been listening to every word. "What do you think? It seems risky."

"It is risky. But we don't exactly have a choice. The Turians are looking for us, and we can't eat their food. And the Pelican is trashed. It's just a matter of time before we're captured or we starve to death. Besides, it feels like he's telling the truth. I say we take it."

John winked his status light green to Kelly and reactivated his speakers. "Deal. I have a teammate too; she's been watching us. The Pelican isn't too far from here, we'll show you the way."

* * *

The Normandy burned for the Trebia relay. The two stowaways were currently being examined by Dr Chakwas, and the body of the crashed ship's unfortunate pilot was stored in a freezer in a remote corner of the cargo bay. Shepard was on the comms with Admiral Hackett.

"Just an empty ship, sir, blown to hell. The Turians are looking it over now. No sign of any survivors."

"Very strange… Well, I'm sure you did all you could, Commander. I'll take this up with the Turians and see if we can find out where that ship came from. Good work. Hackett out."

Shepard walked out of the briefing room, making a mental note to have Pressly call a crew meeting. He had some introductions to make.


	2. Chapter 2

It had taken John, Kelley, and half a dozen crewmen from the Normandy over an hour to figure out how to remove the MJOLNIR armor that encased the two Spartans. The pair had been very uncomfortable with this idea, especially when that alien that worked in engineering – Tali, if John remembered correctly – showed up to examine the various pieces of armor and the technology they contained. But like it or not, they were stuck here, on a ship that neither of them could fly, starved half to death, with no idea how to get back to UNSC-controlled space. An improvement over being crash-landed on Menae to be sure, but it meant that they were at the mercy of the Normandy's crew for the foreseeable future. John made a mental note to talk with Kelly and make a plan to get home when they got the time.

For now though, John and Kelly sat on examination tables in the ship's medical bay, wearing borrowed jumpsuits and being subjected to a variety of tests conducted by Dr. Chakwas, the ship's doctor. John hated to admit it to himself, but she kind of reminded him of Dr. Halsey.

"The IV should be helping with the dehydration, and I'm just about done with my examination. I must say, you two are in remarkable shape, considering your recent ordeal. Extraordinarily fast reaction times, the muscle mass of a professional athlete, near perfect vision… but there is something odd. I hope you don't mind if I ask, but how old are you two?"

John and Kelly shared a significant glance. They were around 14, and they both looked extremely young, a fact not helped by their thyroid implants, which significantly increased their growth rate at the cost of suppressed sexual drive and development. Their age, like their augmentations, origin, armor, and mere existence was a closely-held secret, known only at the highest levels of ONI. With a short, subtle shake of his head, John decided that the security violations he had already committed were enough for one day.

"That's classified, ma'am. Sorry."

"I see. Well do you have names? I imagine the Commander will want to introduce you to the rest of the crew eventually."

John started to speak, ready to make another attempt at preserving their secrets, but Kelly interrupted.

"I'm Kelly, and that's John. We're very grateful for everything your crew has done for us, ma'am. If there's anything we can do to help, just let us know"

John shot her a glare as Dr. Chakwas responded with a wry smile on her face.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Kelly and John. I imagine you'll find some way to keep busy around here. For now though, take some time to rest." She turned to her desk and retrieved a pair of high-calorie, high-protein survival meals. "And eat, too. I need to go talk to Shepard, so I'll leave you two to it."

The doctor walked out of the room, letting the door slide shut behind her. John scowled at Kelly as the two began to eat.

"You realize that ONI would court-martial you if they found out about that. People like her aren't even supposed to know we exist."

The other Spartan sighed, and took another bite of her food before responding.

"Look John, I want to see Reach again just as much as you do. But if we want to go home, we're going to have to cooperate with these people. Did you listen to what she said about Commander Shepard?

John frowned. He had been much more focused on examining the room in case he needed to take up a defensive position. Being weaponless, out of his armor and surrounded by strangers made him uncomfortable, and he'd only picked up a few minor details about the Commander's admittedly impressive military record.

"No, I didn't. Why?"

"She mentioned that he was born on Earth."

"So?"

"She said he was born in the _2150s_."

"What? That makes no sense. There's no way he's older than 35. And it's 2525, so that'd make him almost 400 years old."

"That's the thing, John. She mentioned him becoming a war hero in the 'Skylian Blitz' around 2176. That's around when the Interplanetary War ended. Don't you think Deja would have told us about an alien attack on a human colony around then?"

The implications were beginning to become clear for John, and he didn't like them one bit.

"She would have, so that means-"

"He wasn't born on our Earth. These humans aren't our humans. And it's definitely not 2525 anymore."

Moments passed in silence as the two Spartans ate, letting the revelation sink in. Finally, John spoke.

"Then you're right. We have to trust them if we want to get home. Besides, I guess ONI can't court-martial us if there is no ONI. We'll make friends, figure out what we can, and hopefully find someone who knows enough about slipspace mechanics to get us home."

Kelly nodded.

"Agreed. Dr. Halsey said that our armor was powered by a miniature fusion reactor, so that won't die anytime soon. And the Pelican that came to get us was one of the ground-assault birds, so we've got plenty of ordinance. No AT unfortunately, but the pallet we had the Commander grab had a few MA5s and BR55s. Maybe 4 or 5 thousand rounds of ammunition for each. A couple dozen grenades, too."

"It'd be worth getting some training with their weapons, too. Can't be any more complicated that what the Covenant uses. It might not be as familiar as what we use, but it'd help us stick out less."

"Fair point, John. We'll talk to Shepard about that when we get the chance."

As if summoned, the Commander picked that moment to walk through the door.

"Hey you two. Dr. Chakwas told me you were recovering nicely. I thought I'd come by and formally introduce myself now that things have calmed down. I'm Commander Shepard, and this is the Normandy. She's the pride and joy of the Alliance fleet. I'd like to introduce you to the rest of the crew when you're healed up, if that's alright."

Kelly gave John a significant look, and he responded with a subtle nod.

"That's fine by us, Commander. I didn't get the chance to say it earlier, but thank you for helping us out so much. I'm John, and this is Kelly. We'd like to do anything we can to help out around here. Dr. Chakwas mentioned you had a ground team for surface combat operations, and we're both decent soldiers. We both know our way around a Navy vessel as well, so feel free to put us on the duty roster."

Shepard frowned slightly

"Well John, Dr. Chakwas told me about some of the things she saw in your examination. Classified or not, she has a couple of guesses about your age. And none of those guesses are old enough to be in a combat team"

"Sir, with all due respect, combat's all we know. You saw our gear. We're not children. If you give us a chance, I promise you won't be disappointed."

The Commander considered the idea, absently stroking his chin.

"I don't like it. But you do have the tools for the job. I'll take you down next time we have the chance. If it works out, we'll see what happens from there. I trust your judgement."

Kelly gave a salute from her seated position.

"John's right, sir. You won't regret it!"

Shepard smiled, and checked the clock on his omni-tool.

"Here's hoping I won't. It's almost third shift, so I'll let you two get some sleep. If you're up to it tomorrow, we'll introduce you to the crew. See you in the morning."

The Commander left, and the two Spartans turned back to each other. Kelly spoke first.

"Well that went well. Keep that up and we'll be home in no time."

John gave a tired smile.

"If we're lucky. Goodnight, Kelly."

"Goodnight John."

* * *

The crew had assembled in the hanger. Pressly, Adams, and Joker were the only ones still at their stations, monitoring the ship's status as they discharged the drive core into an uninhabited planet's magnetic field. John and Kelley stood next to Shepard, each wearing a brand new set of Systems Alliance fatigues. For John, who had spent almost his entire life in military uniforms of one kind or another, the crisp, slightly scratchy fabric felt good, a small island of familiarity in the bizarre situation in which he found himself. Shepard began to speak to the assembled crew.

"Thank you all for coming. I'll keep this brief. I'd like to introduce two new additions to the crew, John and Kelly. From what I've heard, they're both great soldiers. Make sure you make them feel welcome, and be patient while they learn how we do things here on the Normandy. All non-essential personnel will have a 30 minute break immediately following this meeting to get to know the new guys. Any questions?"

Low-level murmuring spread through the crowd, but no one spoke up.

"Alright, then. Dismissed!"

Most of the crew began to filter towards to elevator or the engineering compartment, giving John and Kelly a quick handshake as they filtered back to their work or to the mess to take their break, but John noticed some of them hanging back. Their body language and the visible armor and weapons some of them wore marked them as part of Shepard's ground team. Three of the five were aliens of a type John had never seen before. One, a slim girl in a colorful environment suit, another, an angular, almost avian man in thick metal armor, and the third, a hulking reptile wearing old, battle-scarred gear. John made himself remember that they were friendly, and relaxed just a little. The group made their way over for introductions, with the two humans taking the lead.

"I'm Ashley, and this is Kaiden" The man behind her gave a nod. "It's good to have you two with us; you look like you can handle a fight. I kind of got rescued by Shepard too, back when this whole mess with Saren started. Don't worry, you'll get used to the Normandy eventually."

Kaiden spoke up then.

"Yeah, the Commander is a great guy. If you do your job and care about the crew, he'll take care of you. Hell of a card player too."

Ashley laughed. "Anyway, we'll catch up with you two later. Let us know if you need anything."

The girl in the suit was next. Now that he was closer, John noticed that her eyes seemed to glow with their own light. It was slightly unnerving, especially through the haze of her tinted visor.

"I really need to get back to Engineering. With the drive core discharging, Adams needs us to monitor the power relays and make sure they don't fry. I'm Tali'Zorah nar'Rayaa. Shepard saved me from a group of assassins on the Citadel. I am also still attempting to get used to the Normandy, so if you need somebody to talk to, feel free to visit me."

The alien with the metal suit was next. His whole body looked sharp and dangerous. He was taller than most of the humans too, although not quite as tall as the Spartans. His voice had an odd but pleasant quality when he spoke.

"The name's Garrus Vakarian. Shepard didn't 'rescue' me, per se, but I joined around when Tali did. I look forward to seeing you two in action, but if you ever want to spar, I'm usually maintaining equipment down here. I'd better get back to that, actually. Talk to you later."

Garrus walked away, leaving the last alien. He was massive, taller than John, and his leathery skin was crisscrossed with old scars. He stood for a moment, sizing up the two Spartans, and John felt like a small kid again, looking up at Mendez's trainers.

"I'm Urdnot Wrex. Just Wrex for short. Shepard's putting together a hell of a team. In my opinion, you two have the smell of warriors. I'm not going to offer to hold your hand and listen to you whine like a suckling pup, like the others did. But I hope you two get the chance to prove yourselves in combat. I've got the feeling that we're all in for a wild ride."

With that, Wrex left, making his way towards the back of the hanger. John started to turn to Kelly and speak, but noticed that Shepard was walking out of the elevator. The Commander approached them with a friendly demeanor.

"I hope everything went well. You two take the day off, get to know the ship. We're headed to Therum; there's an Asari archaeologist there we're going to pick up. I'll fill you in on the details later. Right now, I'm planning to take you two along to the surface. What do you think?"

The Spartans nodded.

"Sounds good, sir."

"You can count on us, Commander."


	3. Chapter 3

**[A/N: I am a self-admitted Mako hater. ME1 has a lot of cool moments, and none of them are in the Mako. In this fic, the Mako will be pretty much entirely replaced with the Kodiak. It's a pretty minor retcon, but I think it'll make for better writing. Also I rewrote this entire chapter from Kelly's perspective. It's a new thing but maybe it'll be good. If not, let me know.]**

Kelly absentmindedly checked the action on her BR55, making sure she had a round chambered and the safety off. Shepard had said in the pre-mission briefing that the area was mostly uninhabited and supposedly safe, but she wasn't comforted by the idea. They hadn't been able to contact the alien archaeologist they were there to retrieve, and in Kelly's experience, bad comms meant trouble more often than not. John sat in the seat across from her, studying the Normandy's imagery of their landing zone, and the Commander and Garrus were seated further towards the shuttle's aft, absorbed in casual conversation. She thought about opening a tightbeam comm line to John, maybe to talk about Saren and the Geth or the people on Shepard's ground team. They had been picking each other's brain about those subjects for the past couple of days, trying to understand how the two of them fit into this new world, and Kelly thought it could absolutely use a bit more discussion. But her thoughts were interrupted as the shuttle began to land and Joker spoke over the intercom.

"10 seconds guys. LZ looks quiet, probably could have left the 7 foot killing machines at home for this one. Just saying."

Shepard shook his head and stood up, sealing his helmet's visor. "Don't worry about him. Stay alert, and if you see something, call it out."

The shuttle doors opened and the four-man team fanned out across the volcanic rock. Kelly scanned her sector of fire, but found nothing. Shepard gestured for them to form a line, and the squad slipped past the rocks that had blocked their shuttle from landing closer, and began climbing towards the abandoned mine. Kelly kept a few meters behind Garrus, dutifully scanning the ridge to her left. John took up the rear, turning every few seconds to check their back. They had made it maybe 20 meters when the sound of John's MA5 barked out behind her. "Contact rear!" came his voice through her helmet.

The effect was something akin to dropping a match into a pile of fireworks. Kelly dove for cover behind a rock as Geth troopers popped up along the ridgeline and began pouring pulse rifle fire into the valley. She leaned out and sighted in on a rocket trooper, three staccato cracks marking his death. The commander and Garrus shared a piece of cover, Shepard engaging the closer enemies with his pistol while Garrus methodically racked up headshot after headshot with his sniper rifle. Kelly saw John retreating towards her and moved to cover him, sending a burst into one Geth that had jumped from behind its cover to block the Spartan's path. She adjusted to aim at the other Geth that had followed him, but she shouldn't have worried. John ducked the trooper's fire with superhuman speed, coming out of a low roll close enough to grapple the Geth. He swept its legs and grabbed it by the neck as the robot fell, snapping cables and hoses with a savage twist. The trooper neutralized, he continued running. The whole affair had taken under a second. He slid behind a rock, standing to lob a grenade down the valley. Behind him, a small group of three Geth abruptly fell as fragmentation shredded their bodies. As suddenly as it had started, the ambush was over, unsettling silence replacing the chaotic roar of gunfire. Shepard, Garrus, and the Spartans stood unharmed, and a dozen dead Geth lay around them, leaking sizzling hydraulic fluid onto the rock. She might have imagined it, but Kelly thought she saw the commander give them a subtle nod of respect. Shepard turned to scan the valley in front of them.

"Form back up, team. That probably won't be the last ambush we face."

They slowly continued between the walls of rock, weapons raised and scanning their surroundings. Kelly frowned as the valley widened into an empty, open area. The perfect area for another ambush, but there was nothing –

In front of her, a sniper's shot zipped within centimeters of Shepard. She instinctively dove, rolling towards the wall as she looked ahead for the sniper. There, in the large tower. A conspicuous location, but the Geth didn't seem big on subtlety. She raised her rifle, laying her crosshairs on the Geth's head, but it shattered into ruined chunks of metal and circuitry before she could pull the trigger. Shepard knelt behind a low rock wall in front of her, the blue flash from his sniper rifle still fading. Kelly suppressed a grin. There weren't many people who could beat a Spartan to the shot. Another sniper opened fire, his shot racing past where the commander's head had been a moment before. Kelly quickly shifted her aim, and three armor piercing rounds tore through the Geth's neck. The sniper fell, the light on his head flickering once before dying for good. The team waited a moment to see if any more targets would present themselves, but all was quiet. Finally, they stood. John was the first to speak.

"That doesn't make sense. Why send two snipers with no infantry support? They just threw away those two troopers."

Garrus, answered, looking uneasily in the direction of the mine.

"They're stalling us. It's the only explanation that makes sense."

The commander scowled, but made no correction. Instead, he collapsed his sniper rifle and began jogging towards the mine.

"Come on team, double time. If they're saving something special for us, we might as well find out what it is."

The group picked their way through the rocks, eventually coming to the mining facility. A wide, flat area lay before them, separating refinery equipment and the entrance to the mine itself. In this area stood a massive Geth platform, four legged, with massive guns and cannons. "Armature! Get down!" Shepard cried, but it was too late. Crawling Geth of a type they hadn't seen jumped to block their retreat as the armature let out its first shot.

Again, the situation dissolved into chaos in an instant. The armature's brilliant blue bolt streaked towards them as the team scrambled into cover. John and Kelly each focused on the smaller Geth behind them. With no shields, they couldn't afford to get hit and breach their armor. Kelly was unpleasantly reminded of Sam, and pushed him out of her mind as she opened fire on the nearest Geth. Again, the Spartans' weapons put down the robots with ease, chewing through metal and plastic as if it was nothing. Within seconds, the three Geth behind them were dead, and the Spartans had turned towards the armature. The whole group ducked in and out of cover as they ineffectually pinged rounds off the Geth's powerful shields. Garrus was the first to note their situation.

"We're pinned down, boss. Can't get a good shot on the thing before it opens fire on us again."

Shepard thought for a second between bursts of fire, finally turning to John and Kelly.

"Do either of you have any more of those frag grenades?"

The two Spartans traded a glance, but Kelly unhooked the grenade from her hip and handed it to the Commander. Their supply was limited, but if Shepard had a plan, then Kelly was all for helping him.

Shepard nodded in thanks and leapt to his feet, vaulting the box in front of them and sprinting towards the armature. Garrus popped up behind him and provided covering fire. The Spartans did the same, trying to focus their fire on the same point in the shields. A few of their rounds made it through, enough for the Geth to take notice, but not enough to damage it. It diverted its attention from Shepard for a split second, and that was all the commander needed. He took a flying leap, grabbing on to the armature's leg and hauling himself onto its back. The squad shifted their fire lower to avoid hitting Shepard as he thumbed the grenade's activator and shoved it into the gap between the Geth's neck and head. Its shield was designed to stop things that were small and fast, like bullets, and so it never stood a chance at keeping out the Commander's fist. The grenade went off in a shower of metal, and the lifeless armature slumped to the ground. Shepard stood, brushing splattered hydraulic fluid from his chest. Kelly had to admit she was impressed, it reminded her of how she and the other Spartans had taken on their exoskeleton-suited trainers back home. She, John, and Garrus walked towards the commander, Garrus letting out a long, low whistle as they approached.

"That was impressive, boss. Almost makes me believe all those vids about the Blitz."

Shepard shook his head and turned towards the mine entrance.

"I'm just glad it worked. Come on, let's go find that archaeologist."

The archaeologist, Liara T'soni, had been trapped in an ancient Prothean security device deep in the mine. The squad had moved like a well-oiled machine, covering each other's movements, sticking to their sectors of fire, and putting down each Geth trooper they met within seconds. Kelly hoped that the Commander thought they were doing well. They hadn't made any major screw-ups, and it seemed like small unit tactics were one of the few things common to both their worlds, so she was hopeful. They had used an abandoned mining laser to free Liara, and now the tentacle-headed alien was working the controls of an elevator that would take them to the surface. Their laser had triggered a cave-in, and it was vital they get out of the mine quickly before they were buried in an avalanche of razor-sharp rocks. Their elevator slid to a stop, revealing a hulking alien waiting for them, flanked by two Geth troopers. A Krogan, Kelly remembered, like Wrex. They were supposedly extremely strong, with centuries of experience backing up that strength. Beside her, John slid his rifle into its magnetic holster.

"Sir, you and Garrus take the Geth. Kelly and I have the big one"

Kelly could see the Commander's eyebrows go up behind his clear visor, but he nodded.

"On your move, John."

The krogan stepped forward onto the elevator platform and opened his mouth, presumably to boast or perhaps to give a command to his Geth. He never got the chance. John launched towards the alien, Kelly following closely behind. Both Spartans slammed into him, taking him to the ground. To his credit, the alien reacted quickly, one hand scrambling for his shotgun while the other shoved John away. Kelly rolled off of the krogan's midsection, kicking the shotgun away and breaking the wrist of the hand that had been reaching for it. John quickly recovered and rejoined the fight, straddling the krogan's chest as it kicked Kelly away, and he reached over his shoulder to draw his MA5 as the alien struggled underneath him. Kelly dove to secure the krogan's other arm as John unloaded almost a full magazine of armor piercing ammunition into the alien's face. Finally, the krogan went limp, and the two Spartans stood. Behind them, Shepard and Garrus had just finished dispatching the last of the two Geth. Kelly opened a tightbeam channel to John as the other two members of their squad approached.

"You're getting rusty, Spartan. Got to work on that hand-to-hand"

John tensed almost imperceptibly, but didn't reply, and Kelly laughed as she closed the connection. Shepard began to speak, but was cut off by Liara.

"The cave-in is getting worse! We need to leave now!"

Sure enough, large chunks of rock were beginning to fall from the roof of the cavern. The team broke into a run for the exit, Shepard calling Joker to bring the shuttle around. They came through the exit like a shot out of a cannon, followed closely by a plume of dust and small fragments of stone. Kelly saw that the landscape outside had not been spared the seismic event that they had experienced underground. Volcanoes were going off near and far, and the ground shook violently. They jumped into the waiting shuttle, and Joker pushed the throttle to its limits as they burned through the atmosphere. His cheery voice broke into the exhausted silence that filled the passenger hold.

"Glad we got our new stowaway, Commander! For future reference though, I don't think any Alliance ships are rated to fly through lava, so maybe the next time you could lay off the earthquakes. Just a suggestion."

Shepard just sighed and turned to their new 'stowaway'. They weren't quite back to the Normandy, but he had a lot of questions, and it wasn't like Liara was going anywhere.

* * *

That night, John and Kelly sat on a crate in the cargo bay, doing maintenance on their armor. It was well into third shift, but MJOLNIR was a powerful tool, one that the two Spartans intended to keep in perfect condition as long as possible. Kelly was working on getting a particularly stubborn rock chip out of her gauntlet when John spoke.

"Thanks, by the way"

Kelly looked up and saw the hint of a grin on his face. "For what?"

"For bailing me out against that krogan, remember? Don't know how I got so rusty."

"Oh, that. Yeah, no problem." Kelly was wary. John was going somewhere with this.

"You know, I talked with the Commander after that meeting with the rest of the ground team. He said we did well. He was particularly impressed with that fight with the krogan, actually. Said that he'd probably take us on more missions if we wanted to go."

"That's good. We do owe him for saving our lives."

"Of course. There was one thing, though. He didn't want me to talk about it, and I'm not one to disobey a superior officer, but I thought it was important for you to know…"

"What's that?"

"Well there was something about a sniper tower, and a Spartan who was especially slow to pull the trigger…"

"Screw you, John."


End file.
